Method and apparatus for matching pets to appropriate pet products and supplies

ABSTRACT

The present invention is a method and apparatus for matching pets, particularly dogs and cats, with an appropriate product by a pet owner. A breed code is assigned to each breed of pet based on predetermined criteria. Pet products and supplies are classified based on the suitability of the product for pets of various breed codes. The breed codes assigned to each breed and breed codes assigned to each product are published and made available to the consumer so that a pet owner may make an informed decision in purchasing a product for a pet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The invention is a method and apparatus allowing a consumer toselect Pet products and supplies appropriate for a specific breed ofdomestic pet.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] Domestic pets of all sizes and activity levels require safe andsuitable products in their daily lives. Appropriate Pet products andsupplies can help to satisfy both a pet's maintenance needs and theirexercise, amusement, and socialization requirements.

[0005] Many pet owners become deeply attached to their pets, and arewilling to spend considerable money providing for their maintenance andcare. The industry serving these pet owners is large and diverse. Asignificant portion of the pet industry is devoted to manufacturingsupplies to maintain, nurture, amuse and occupy pets.

[0006] The diversity of Pet products and supplies for pets available onthe market is matched only by the diversity of the animals themselves.Pets differ in size, personality, and exercise requirements. Productsappropriate for one pet may be entirely inappropriate for another pet.The prior art provides no guidance to the pet owner as to which productsare appropriate for the owner's pet. An inappropriate pet product cannotbe properly used by the animal and is a waste of money for the petowner. At worst, an inappropriate pet product can present a hazard tothe pet, such as an increased likelihood of the animal ingesting andchoking on or experiencing intestinal blockage from the product.

[0007] The prior art does not teach a systematic classification systemto assist the pet owner in determining whether a particular pet productis appropriate for the owner's pet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The present invention provides systematic classification systemsof pets and pet products to allow a pet owner to make an appropriateselection for the owner's pet.

[0009] In the present invention, indicia are assigned to a breed of pet.The indicia comprise one or more marks or designations that serve todifferentiate one breed of animal from another, such as numbers,letters, words, symbols, colors, sounds, odors, any combination of theforegoing, or any other means of differentiation. In the preferredembodiment, the indicia comprise a “breed code” consisting of a singlenumeral.

[0010] Many different methods can be used to assign a breed code to aparticular breed. For dogs, one method is based on an evaluation of theweight of the typical adult of the breed and based on the degree ofactivity or activity level of the breed. Other factors also may beconsidered, such as the group to which a dog belongs, the dog's weightand height, size and shape of the dog's jaw and many other possiblefactors. For purposes of this application, a “group” is a classificationof dog breeds based on the purposes for which the breeds originally weredeveloped. For cats, one method for assigning the breed code is based onthe temperament and need for attention of the particular breed of cat. Asingle breed code may apply to several breeds of pets.

[0011] A pet product is evaluated to determine for what breed codes itwould be appropriate. The evaluation of the product may be based on theexperience of the manufacturer or others, or may be empirical, as byexposing the product to animals categorized within the various breedcodes to determine by which animals the product is accepted. The breedcode for each breed is then published, as is the list of appropriatebreed codes for the product. The pet owner may thereby learn the breedcode applicable to his or her particular pet and may choose a productfrom those Pet products and supplies having an identical breed code. Thepet owner thereby may select a product knowing that there is anincreased likelihood that the product will be safe, suitable, anduseable by the owner's pet.

[0012] The breed codes appropriate to a particular product may bepublished by placing the breed codes on the packaging of the individualpet product, on the pet product itself, or in any other locationconvenient to the pet owner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013]FIG. 1 is a product attached to retail display packaging.

[0014]FIG. 2 is a retail display with breed code information.

[0015]FIG. 3 is a product marked with a breed code.

[0016]FIG. 4 illustrates a computer network implementing the presentinvention.

[0017]FIG. 5 is a flow chart for one method of determining breed codefor dogs.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0018] Indicia are assigned to a breed of pet, such a breed of dog orcat. In the preferred embodiment, the indicia comprise a numerical breedcode. Pet products and supplies are categorized to determine for whatpets having a breed code a product having an identical breed code isappropriate. Finally, the breed code assigned to a particular breed andlist of Pet products and supplies categorized by breed code arepublished. Publication of the breed codes and publication of the list ofPet products and supplies categorized by breed code informs a pet owneras to whether a particular product is appropriate for a particular pet.

[0019] As shown by FIG. 1 the publication of the breed code categories 2for which a product is appropriate need not appear as a list and mayappear on the container or packaging 4 of a product 6. As shown by FIG.2, the publication of the breed code categories 2 may be in the form oflabeling, advertising, or any other means 8 in the proximity of aproduct 6. The publication of the breed code categories 2 may appear onthe product itself 6 FIG. 3, as by printing, embossing or creation of araised pattern. Also as shown by FIG. 3, a single product 6 may besuitable for pets belonging to several breed codes 2.

[0020] Publication of the breed codes and publication of the list of petproducts and supplies categorized by breed code may be implemented bycomputer or other communication device. As shown by FIG. 4, a userinstructs a client computer 10 to request information from a servercomputer 14. The client computer 10 sends the request through a computernetwork 12, which may be the Internet. The server computer 14 receivesthe request. The server computer 14 transmits information through thecomputer network 12 to the client computer 10, where a display 16exhibits the information to the user. The information transmitted by theserver computer 14 to the client computer 10 may comprise theidentification of a product 6 and publication of the breed codescategories 2 for which the product 6 is appropriate.

[0021] For the purposes of this application, a client computer 10 is anydevice capable of requesting information over a computer network 12 anddisplaying 16 received information to the user. For the purposes of thisapplication, a server computer 14 is any device capable of deliveringinformation to a client computer 10 over a computer network 12.

[0022] Any suitable method may be used to assign indicia to a breed ofpet. Dogs and cats can be categorized in any of many possible ways,including without limitation: age of the animal, dimensions of variousfeatures of the animal, weight of the animal, bone structure, the sizeof the jaw, chewing temperament, athleticism, exercise needs, group,breed, personality characteristics, taste and odor preferences, and anyother factors that assist in predicting behavior and preferences. Anysuch categorization is contemplated by this application. Although thepresent method assigns a single breed code to all pets of that breed, itis contemplated that multiple indicia could be assigned to pets of thesame breed based on weight, age or other characteristics or for thepurpose of matching the breed with Pet products and supplies ofdifferent types, such as chewing Pet products and supplies and fetchingPet products and supplies.

[0023] The indicia may comprise a breed code assigned to a breed and anidentical breed code used to designate an appropriate product. Theindicia assigned to the breed and the product may not be identical, butmay correspond one to another; as, for example and without limitation, afirst color assigned to a breed and a second color assigned to Petproducts and supplies appropriate for pets of that breed.

[0024] For the purposes of this application, a “breed” of pet, such as adog or cat, is a relatively homogenous group of animals identified byexperts. Pets of a particular breed, such as breeds of dog recognized bythe American Kennel Club, share characteristics of weight, jaw size andshape, activity level and personality characteristics. The breed of adog provides a reasonable estimation of the needs of that dog. A petproduct appropriate to one dog of a particular breed likely will beappropriate to most dogs of the same breed.

[0025] The starting point for the determination of breed codes for dogsis identifying the breed and determining the weight and exerciserequirements of each breed of dog. The “breeds” of dog are thoserecognized by the American Kennel Club. The weight of each breed is theideal weight of an adult dog of the breed as published by the AmericanKennel Club. The exercise requirement is based on information obtainedfrom published sources; namely the Encyclopedia of Dogs by D. CarolineCoile, Ph.D., published by Barron's, ISBN 0-7641-5097-0, and is based onthe activity expected from typical dogs of each breed.

[0026] An exercise factor is derived for each breed of dogs, as shown byTable 1. The exercise requirement is an assigned value of 1 through 5,with one being a very low exercise requirement and five being a veryhigh exercise requirement. The exercise factor is derived from theexercise requirement. TABLE 1 Exercise Exercise Requirement Factor 0-1 12-5 2

[0027] A weight factor is derived based on the ideal weight for an adultdog of the breed as shown in Table 2. As an example and as shown onTable 2, a breed of dog with an ideal adult weight of 10 pounds isassigned a weight factor of 0. TABLE 2 Weight Weight in lbs. Factor 0-10 0 11-16 2 17-35 3 36-45 4 46-70 5 71-80 6 81 and 7 above

[0028] To calculate the breed code for a breed of dog, the exercisefactor for that breed is added to the weight factor for the breed. Thesum is the breed code. FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the calculation ofbreed codes by summing the exercise factor and the weight factor. Table3 below is the result of the summation of exercise factor and weightfactor for several breeds of dogs recognized by the American KennelClub. Included in Table 3 are the breed, group name, weight, activityrequirement, exercise factor, weight factor and resulting breed code.The breeds are grouped in the table by breed code. TABLE 3 Breed CodeDetermination Exer- Exer- cise Weight Breed Group Weight cise FactorFactor Breed Code: 1 Chihuahua Toy 5 1 1 0 Coton De Tulear Toy 8 1 1 0English Toy Spaniel Toy 10 1 1 0 Japanese Chin Toy 5 1 1 0 Maltese Toy 51 1 0 Papillon Toy 10 1 1 0 Pekingese Toy 10 1 1 0 Pomeranian Toy 5 1 10 Breed Code: 2 Affenpinscher Toy 9 3 2 0 American Eskimo Toy Non- 8 3 20 Sporting Bichon Frise Non- 10 2 2 0 Sporting Brussels Griffon Toy 9 22 0 Chinese Crested Toy 8 2 2 0 Dachshund Mini & Toy Toy 10 2 2 0 FoxTerrier -Toy Toy 5 3 2 0 Manchester Terrier Toy Toy 8 2 2 0 MiniaturePinscher Toy 9 2 2 0 Schipperke mini Toy 10 3 2 0 Silky Terrier Toy 10 22 0 Toy Poodle Toy 6 2 2 0 Yorkshire Terrier Toy 7 2 2 0 Breed Code: 3Lhasa Apso Non- 14 1 1 2 Sporting Lowchen Non- 15 1 1 2 Sporting Pug Toy16 1 1 2 Shih Tzu Toy 13 1 1 2 Breed Code: 4 American Eskimo Mini Non-15 3 2 2 Sporting Australian Terrier Terrier 12 3 2 2 Border TerrierTerrier 15 3 2 2 Boston Terrier Non- 20 1 1 3 Sporting Bulldog French*special Non- 25 1 1 3 need Sporting Breed Code: 4 Cairn Terrier Terrier14 3 2 2 Cavalier King Charles Toy 15 3 2 2 Spaniel Havanese *wght Toy13 3 2 2 Italian Greyhound Toy 13 2 2 2 Jack Russell Terrier Terrier 154 2 2 Miniature Schnauzer Terrier 14 3 2 2 Norfolk Terrier Terrier 12 32 2 Norwich Terrier Terrier 12 3 2 2 Poodle mini Non- 15 3 2 2 SportingSchipperke Non- 15 3 2 2 Sporting Tibetan Spaniel Non- 12 2 2 2 SportingBreed Code: 5 American Eskimo Dog Non- 30 3 2 3 Sporting Basenji Hound25 3 2 3 Basset Hound Hound 45 1 1 4 Beagle Hound 25 3 2 3 BedlingtonTerrier Terrier 20 3 2 3 Bulldog English *special Non- 45 1 1 4 needSporting Cardigan Welsh Corgi Herding 35 2 2 3 Cocker Spaniel Sporting30 3 2 3 Dachshund *wght Hound 30 2 2 3 Dandie Dinmont Terrier Terrier21 3 2 3 English Cocker Spaniel Sporting 35 3 2 3 Finnish Spitz Non- 303 2 3 Sporting Fox Terrier Smooth & Terrier 20 3 2 3 Wire FoxhoundAmerican Hound 24 4 2 3 Irish Terrier Terrier 25 3 2 3 Lakeland TerrierTerrier 20 3 2 3 Manchester Terrier Terrier 22 3 2 3 terrier MiniatureBull Terrier Terrier 29 3 2 3 Pembroke Welsh Corgi Herding 25 3 2 3Petit Basset Griffon Hound 35 3 2 3 Vendeen Puli Herding 30 3 2 3Scottish Terrier Terrier 20 3 2 3 Sealyham Terrier Terrier 23 2 2 3Shetland Sheepdog Herding 20 3 2 3 Shiba Inu Non- 25 3 2 3 Sporting SkyeTerrier Terrier 20 2 2 3 Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier 35 3 2 3 TerrierStaffordshire Bull Terrier Terrier 35 3 2 3 Tibetan Terrier Non- 25 3 23 Sporting Welsh Terrier Terrier 35 3 2 3 West Highland White Terrier 203 2 3 Terrier Whippet Hound 30 3 2 3 Breed Code: 6 Airedale TerrierTerrier 45 3 2 4 American Water Spaniel Sporting 40 3 2 4 AustralianCattle Dog Herding 40 5 2 4 Border Collie Herding 40 5 2 4 BrittanySporting 40 5 2 4 Field Spaniel Sporting 45 4 2 4 Ibizan Hound Hound 453 2 4 Keeshond Non- 40 3 2 4 Sporting Kerry Blue Terrier Terrier 40 3 24 Norwegian Elkhound Hound 45 3 2 4 Schnauzer Standard Working 40 3 2 4Sussex Spaniel Sporting 40 3 2 4 Welsh Springer Spaniel Sporting 45 3 24 Breed Code: 7 Afghan Hound Hound 60 3 2 5 American StaffordshireTerrier 60 3 2 5 Australian Shepherd Herding 50 5 2 5 Bearded CollieHerding 50 4 2 5 Belgian Malinois Herding 65 5 2 5 Belgian Sheepdog sameHerding 65 5 2 5 Boxer Working 65 3 2 5 Bull Terrier Terrier 55 3 2 5Canaan Dog Herding 50 4 2 5 Chesapeake Bay Sporting 70 3 2 5 RetrieverChinese Shar-pei Non- 55 3 2 5 Sporting Chow Chow Non- 60 2 2 5 SportingClumber Spaniel Sporting 60 2 2 5 Collie Herding 65 3 2 5 Curly-CoatedRetriever Sporting 70 3 2 5 Dalmatian Non- 55 3 2 5 Sporting EnglishSetter Sporting 65 4 2 5 English Springer Spaniel Sporting 50 4 2 5Flat-Coated Retriever Sporting 70 3 2 5 Foxhound English Hound 65 4 2 5German Shorthaired Sporting 70 5 2 5 Pointer German Wirehaired Sporting60 5 2 5 Pointer Golden Retriever Sporting 70 3 2 5 Gordon SetterSporting 70 4 2 5 Greyhound Hound 65 3 2 5 Harrier Hound 55 4 2 5 IrishSetter Sporting 55 5 2 5 Irish Water Spaniel Sporting 55 3 2 5 ItalianSpinoni Sporting 70 3 2 5 Labrador Retriever Sporting 70 3 2 5 PharaohHound Hound 55 4 2 5 Plott Hound Hound 65 3 2 5 Breed Code: 7 PointerSporting 60 4 2 5 Poodle standard Non- 50 4 2 5 Sporting PortugueseWater Dog Working 55 4 2 5 Saluki Hound 60 3 2 5 Samoyed Working 55 3 25 Siberian Husky Working 50 4 2 5 Vizsla Sporting 65 3 2 5 WeimaranerSporting 70 5 2 5 Wirehaired Pointing Sporting 60 4 2 5 Griffon BreedCode: 8 Alaskan Malamute Working 80 4 2 6 Black and Tan Hound 75 4 2 6Coonhound Doberman Pinscher Working 80 3 2 6 Komondor Working 75 3 2 6Old English Sheepdog Herding 80 3 2 6 Rhodesian Ridgeback Hound 80 3 2 6Schnauzer Giant Working 80 4 2 6 Breed Code: 9 Akita Working 90 3 2 7Anatolian Shepherd Working 120 3 2 7 Bemese Mountain Dog Working 100 2 27 Bloodhound Hound 100 3 2 7 Borzoi Hound 85 3 2 7 Bouvier Des FlandresHerding 85 4 2 7 Briard Herding 85 4 2 7 Bullmastiff Working 120 2 2 7German Shepherd Dog Herding 85 4 2 7 Great Dane Working 110 3 2 7 GreatPyrenees Working 90 3 2 7 Great Swiss Mountain Working 110 3 2 7 DogIrish Wolfhound Hound 110 3 2 7 Kuvasz Working 100 4 2 7 Mastiff Working180 2 2 7 Newfoundland Working 150 2 2 7 Otterhound Hound 90 3 2 7Rottweiler Working 110 3 2 7 Saint Bernard Working 165 2 2 7 ScottishDeerhound Hound 90 3 2 7

[0029] As illustrated by Table 3, the characteristics of pets of aparticular breed are determined in part by the purpose for which aparticular breed was originally developed. For dogs, those purposes aredivided into seven groups, as follows.

[0030] a. Dogs of the sporting group were bred for hunting andretrieving. Dogs of this group have a keen sense of smell and may beswimmers.

[0031] b. The hound group includes two branches. The sight hounds werebred for sighting and chasing prey. Scent hounds, which tend to belarger dogs, were bred to locate prey by scent.

[0032] c. The working group includes guard dogs, military dogs, packdogs, life-saving dogs, fighting dogs, police dogs, companion dogs andsled dogs.

[0033] d. Dogs of the terrier group were bred for hunting prey inburrows.

[0034] e. The Toy group includes dogs bred for size as companion dogs.Dogs of this group were derived from the hound, sporting and terriergroups.

[0035] f. The non-sporting group is a catch all for dogs not included inthe other groups.

[0036] g. The herding group was bred for assistance in corrallinganimals and protecting them from predators.

[0037] A breed code may be assigned for a breed of cat. A temperamentfactor is assigned to each breed based on the characteristics of thebreed; namely, the activity level of the breed. A cat'sneed-for-attention factor also is assigned to each breed based on thecharacteristics of the breed. The need-for-attention of the breed isbased on the need of cats in the breed for interaction with humans. Thetemperament factor and need-for-attention factor are summed to obtainthe breed code for a breed of cat.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of matching an pet with an appropriateproduct comprising the steps of a. assigning a breed code to a pluralityof breeds of a pet based on predetermined criteria; b. categorizing aproduct to determine whether said product is appropriate for saidplurality of breeds of said pet assigned to said breed code; c.publishing said assignment of said breed code and said categorization ofsaid product to allow a consumer to appropriately match said product tosaid breeds of said pet.
 2. The method of claim 1, said pet being a dog,said predetermined criteria for assigning said breed code to saidplurality of breeds of said pet comprising: a. assigning an exercisefactor to each of said breeds of said pet based on predeterminedcriteria; b. assigning a weight factor to each of said breeds of saidpet based on predetermined criteria; c. combining said exercise factorand said weight factor in a predetermined manner to determine said breedcode.
 3. The method of claim 2, said weight factor being a numericalweight factor and said exercise factor being a numerical exercisefactor, said predetermined manner for combining said exercise factor andsaid weight factor comprising addition of said exercise factor and saidweight factor.
 4. The method of claim 1, said pet being a cat, saidpredetermined criteria for assigning said breed code to said pluralityof breeds of said pet comprising: a. assigning a temperament factor toeach of said plurality of breeds of said pet based on predeterminedcriteria; b. assigning a need for attention factor to each of saidplurality of breeds of said pet based on predetermined criteria; c.combining said temperament factor and said need for attention factor todetermine said breed code.
 5. The method of claim 6, said temperamentfactor being a numerical temperament factor and said need for attentionfactor being a numerical need for attention factor, said predeterminedmanner for combining said temperament factor and said need for attentionfactor comprising addition of said temperament factor and said need forattention factor.
 6. A method for matching a pet with an appropriateproduct comprising placing indicia on a product for a pet or on acontainer therefor, or on any means in the proximity thereof, thatindicates its compatibility with the pet having the same indicia or acorresponding indicia.
 7. The method of claim 6, said indicia comprisinga breed code.
 8. A product for a pet or a container therefor havingthereon indicia indicating that the product is compatible with a pethaving the same or corresponding indicia to the indicia assignedthereto.
 9. The product of claim 8, said indicia comprising a breedcode.
 10. An apparatus for matching a pet with an appropriate productcomprising a client computer programmed to receive from a servercomputer over a computer network and to display to a user anidentification of a product and further programmed to display indiciaindicating that the product is compatible with a pet having the sameindicia or corresponding indicia.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, saidindicia comprising a breed code.
 12. An apparatus for matching a petwith an appropriate product comprising a server computer programmed totransmit over a computer network to a server computer for display to auser an identification of a product and indicia indicating that theproduct is compatible with a pet having the same or correspondingindicia.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, said indicia comprising a breedcode.